DERBY >> The city’s Ecofest Saturday featured lots of information on how to live a greener lifestyle, a ‘trashformation contest,’ live music and fun for all ages.

The Cultural Commission sponsored the event on lower Caroline Street adjacent to the Derby Greenway. Commission chairwoman Laura Brezina said the goal was to raise awareness about respecting the environment.

At noon, Brezina and commission members led a ‘Hands Across the Land’ event on the Greenway. About 15 people held hands and chanted “no to fracking; yes to clean energy.”

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Fracking is a process that uses pressurized water and other materials to extract natural gas and oil from under the ground. Fracking is not done in Connecticut.

Brezina said the event is modeled after ‘Hands Across the Sand,’ an annual worldwide initiative on May 17. She said it was started by a Florida man in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

State Rep. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, chairwoman of the Environment Committee, spoke about legislation passed during the last session.

“We passed a three-year moratorium on fracking, rather than banning it,” Gentile said. “To ban it would be to waste legislation,” she said, since fracking is not performed in Connecticut.

The bill would ban disposal of fracking waste in the state.

Mayor Anita Dugatto said she was pleased with the turnout. “It’s our first one, and it’s a success,” she said. “It’s a great day today.”

Brezina said there were more than 20 vendors and information booths on hand. They included Massaro Community Farm, a certified organic farm in Woodbridge; Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport; and A Place Called Hope, a rehabilitation center for birds of prey in Killingworth. Todd Secki and Grace Krick from A Place Called Hope introduced the audience to an Aemerican kestrel and a barred owl.

Winners of the trashformation contest were Derby resident Rich DiCarlo, who created a robot out of recycled materials and Ansonia resident Rich DelValle, who fabricated a birdhouse out of pieces of furniture and coffee creamer bottles, among other items that could be considered “trash.” The artwork will be displayed at City Hall, Brezina said.

The local rock band, RiverJack, entertained throughout the day.

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